While its sheer bulk negates its interest to a general audience, The Complete Bill Evans on Verve is an essential library piece for any serious jazz fan or historian. Spanning 18 CDs, 269 tracks and 21 hours, the box set includes all of Evans' recordings for the label between 1962 and 1969, including 19 albums, two previously unreleased albums and 98 previously unreleased tracks. During these years, the pianist made some of his greatest music, including his legendary Village Vanguard sessions, and the set charts all of his changes, as he plays with his trio and as a solo artist, as well as a rare session with a rhythm quartet and strings. While the set itself could be a little more user-friendly – it's encased in a steel box, with a 160-page booklet and an 18-disc fanpack on separate shelves – the music itself is nearly flawless and nearly essential for most serious jazz fans.
Freddy Cole is a songwriter's dream, able to impart his own distinct personality to a song while remaining faithful to its lyric and melody. He surrounds a song with the warm presence of his voice, but within that breathy glow, he's capable of the subtlest inflection, from irony to wary satisfaction and the most wistful sense of loss. He's also able to swing masterfully at medium tempos, as he does on "I Remember You" and the relaxed rendition of "It's Impossible." While Cole can stamp his own identity on a familiar tune, he can also bring out the best in an unexpected song. "Merry-Go-Round," by the team of Bobby Scott and Herb Martin…
Straight Round is the ninth studio album by electro-jazz group Four80East. With an eclectic mix of neo-jazz, STRAIGHT ROUND serves up a infectious mix of soul, funk and jazz groovers to follow-up their 2019 Billboard #1 single, Cinco Cinco Seis , from their Ep release, Four On The Floor. Four80East is a Toronto-based electro-jazz duo that’s all about the groove. Drawing from their diverse musical influences, Rob DeBoer and Tony Grace have created a signature sound that combines electronic production with live instrumentation.